Taper is a convenient data
back up and
archiving software application for
Linux and other
UNIX-like operating systems.
Written by Yusuf Nagree of Australia, the current version at the time of writing is 6.9b. Taper's main benefit is ease of use, followed by the storage of the catalogue file on the tape media itself, and of course it's free software. The application supports most SCSI & IDE tape drives, and most other forms of removable media such as Zip or Jaz. The app's front-end is graphical console, and while there is no mouse support, tabs and arrow keys allow really easy moving around the app.
If you're looking for something a bit more straightforward than dump or more modern than cpio and easier (and cheaper) than BRU or Arkeia, give taper a try.